Oh baby! Beluga whale import fight heats up

An aquarium in Atlanta has gone to federal court in a bid to overturn a federal agency’s decision to prevent it from importing 18 beluga whales from Russia. The charismatic whales are a huge draw at marine parks, but animal rights activists question whether capturing them for display is good for the whales or wild populations. The request became a hot controversy, drawing more than 9000 comments from the public, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. In August 2013, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service sided with critics in denying the request to import the whales, which are reportedly still being held in Russia.